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On To The Point, we’ve featured many kinds of guests, including former champion athletes, business moguls, and keynote speakers … but we’ve never had a guest quite like this one. We welcome Michael Franzese, a former caporegime for the Colombo crime family.
Once ranking 18th in a 1980s Fortune magazine list of the top 50 mob bosses, Michael is one of two alive from that list today and the only one that’s a free man. However, his story isn’t so much about his past — it’s about how he’s turned his life around and is using his experiences to help people.
Buckle up!
Reformed, Redeemed, Refocused
In his mob career, Michael Franzese allegedly made more money for the mob in his infamous “gas scheme” than anybody other than the one and only Al Capone. After two decades in the mob world, Michael’s life caught up to him. He served prison time, including nearly three years in solitary confinement. During that time, Michael became a person of faith (giving much of the credit to his wife) and re-entered the world dedicated to using his past for good.
Now, Michael spends his time writing books, performing at speaking engagements, and focusing on helping others use what he’s learned to better themselves.
- How he went from being a pre-med student to being a crime boss
- What his day-to-day life was like as a capo for the Colombo crime family
- Leading and managing people in a chaotic environment
- What it takes to be in the mob
- Meeting John Gotti
- Pulling in $5 million to 10 million/week with his gas scheme
- Whether he was able to keep any of the money he made in the mob days
- Managing multiple legitimate and illegitimate businesses simultaneously
- Dealing with the stress of the mob life
- And more!
A Newly Made Man
Michael Franzese was indicted seven times, went to trial five times, and was arrested almost 20 times in his mob career. He had plenty of targets on his back. He was in charge of 15 other made men and a crew of about 300 guys, as well running rackets while also overseeing car dealerships, a film studio, and other legitimate businesses. And he was doing it all on just a few hours of sleep a night. If there’s anyone that can relate to the stress of running a business, it’s him!
Self-admittedly, Michael isn’t a business genius. He recognized his talent was living by his personal motto of “do what you do the best, and delegate the rest.” He believes that if you know how to motivate and manage the right people and have a little business sense, you can go a long way.
We’re excited to have Michael as a guest speaker at RYNOx 2025, with the “godfather” of the home services and To The Point superstar Ken Goodrich interviewing him! We’ll see you there!
